At the present time the public demand for turquoise is becoming more and more widespread. Turquoise is mined from earth formations, often as an incident to the mining of copper. After the turquoise is mined it must be conditioned for use by the manufacturers of jewelry. This conditioning is accomplished by placing the turquoise rocks in a container to which a polyester resin is added. It is left in the containers, wherein it is immersed in the polyester resin, for a period ranging from two to three weeks. During this time the polyester resin penetrates the rocks to achieve the desired conditioning thereof. At the same time, gelatinous formations are built up on the rock surfaces. This so called gel must be removed to place the turquoise in a marketable condition. At the present time this removal is accomplished largely by manual scrubbing operations. It is accompanied by the exudation of fumes from the gel which, to say the least, are highly uncomfortable and disagreeable if not perilous to the health of the scrubbing personnel.
So far as the present applicant is aware there is now no known apparatus or machine designed specifically for the scrubbing of turquoise. Nor is there available any scrubbing machine designed for use on materials other than turquoise which will accomodate the conditions attending the removal of gel from turquoise rocks.
There are examples in the known art of machines for scrubbing rock or gravel. There are also examples of cleaning apparatus which include cylindrical screens which rotate on a horizontal axis, however, none of these known devices are adapted to operate efficiently under conditions which attend the scrubbing of turquoise.